Receiving an inheritance is a great thing. The Bible is full of individuals who received a great inheritance. The Prodigal Son comes to mind as the principle New Testament character who received, albeit before his time, a great inheritance. The Old Testament characters were often known as to whom their father was and what they received as an inheritance. A great inheritance is passed from Abraham to Isaac, Isaac to Jacob, who later became Israel, (who had 12 sons and was the father of the 12 Tribes of Israel, even though his son, Joseph, was sold into slavery by his brothers, causing Joseph to miss out on his inheritance; yet, Joseph then saved his family from starving while being a government official in Egypt, causing Israel to adopt Joseph’s two sons Manessah and Ephraim, who later inherited two shares of his father’s inheritance, and minus Levi’s family who never inherited any land since they were the priests and would live off of the various offerings in the temple, with no inheritance to the rightful heir, Esau). I guess you can see how complicated this whole inheritance thing can get.
I have a genetic inheritance that has come to me from more generations than I care to remember. This inheritance is with me every day, and I never go anywhere without it. My great inheritance is my feet (are my feet?, is my dogs? Well, you get the picture.). I get my feet from a long line of genetic and orthopedic catastrophes. My feet are big, twisted, hoofed, gnarled, callused, and a little bit more than ugly. I once saw a set of 4,000 year-old-feet on a mummy that I envied. My feet have been stepped on by horses, broken by sports, and made flat by whatever it is that makes feet flat. My uncle has hobbled around barefooted for years. He ruined his knees trying to walk on feet that were not made for shoes. He has a closet full of shoes that were supposed to be comfortable. All attempts at finding a comfortable pair of shoes have resulted in a piled higher and deeper floor covering of unused leather, canvas, and rubber configurations mounding up close to his hanging shirt-tails. Recently, he accidently put a pair of shoes on the wrong feet, only to find them to be much more comfortable than when they were placed on the appropriate feet. Now he wears his shoes on the wrong feet and has shown such a recovery, that he is preparing to run in a marathon in October.
I recently visited a Nike store that boasted 24,000 pairs of shoes in inventory. I had looked for two years for a pair of shoes that would fit, and I told the Nike sales boys this fact when I entered and then exclaimed, “I am not leaving until I am able to find a pair of shoes that fit.” The salesmen smirked a haughty, condescending, and overconfident little “Hhhmmhhhhhm” and glanced at each other as if I was an unknowing bumpkin. Then I pulled off my shoes and showed them my feet, and you should have seen them run for cover. One brave soul, the little guy with the least seniority, gently ushered me to the loading dock by the dumpster while trying to convince me that this was some form of private fitting room with a scenic location. I know in my heart that they believed my feet would be a sales and marketing nightmare within a line of sight of the other patrons.
Box after box of shoes came through that loading dock door, only to be sent back to inventory. Finally, an old dusty box was brought out. The shoes inside were a hideous color with duct tape for laces, no arch support, inserts that felt like delta mud, a heel cup that was cut from a plastic milk jug, and with adjustable bunion pads made out of gopher fur. The shoes were perfect. The little shoe salesperson was relieved. I bought them. They may look like a 1975 American Motor’s “Gremlin” after a demolition derby, dyed the color of old meat loaf, with ketchup, but the fit is heaven.
Which brings me to the point of this story. Heaven is our inheritance from God. Heaven is what we get by being faithful and living as Jesus lived. Heaven may be called Kingdom, Mansion, Banquet, Glory Land, Zion, or New Jerusalem. Whatever you call it, the promise is that we will be with God and that we will be home. The one joy that means so much to me is that finally, and truthfully, I believe that “one size fits all.” It is a clean and sweet gift that God offers to everyone.
Hebrews 9:15 refers to our inheritance as an “eternal promise” filled with “redemption.” Earthly inheritances are a mixed blessing. But God’s inheritance is a gift that is free and waiting for you. The fit is heavenly!
Rev. Dan Martin is pastor of First UMC, Hendersonville. He can be reached at moose1953@hotmail.com
